Selection-based item tagging

• US 9,495,335 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2010
• Issued: 11/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: MacLaurin, Matthew B.
• Primary Examiner(s): WIENER, ERIC A
• Application Number:
  US12/887,406
• Publication Number:
  US 20110010388A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,247 Days
• Field of Search: 715230-233, 715/705, 715/708, 715/710, 715/816, 715/825, 715/968, 704/251, 706/12, 706/59, 706/934, 707/696, 707736-747
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/164 File meta data generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/25 Integrating or interfacing systems involving database management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/35 Clustering; Classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/353 into predefined classes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5866 using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, manually generated location and time information
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/686 using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, title or artist information, time, location or usage information, user ratings
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7867 using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, title and artist information, manually generated time, location and usage information, user ratings
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90324 using system suggestions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/117 Tagging; Marking up details of markup languages G06F40/143; Designating a block; Setting of attributes style sheets, e.g. eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformation [XSLT], G06F40/154
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 706/934 Information retrieval or Information management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/968 interface for database querying and retrieval

Abstract

Item selections along with user inputs are leveraged to provide users with automated item tagging. Further user interaction with additional windows and other interfacing techniques are not required to tag the item. In one example, a user selects items and begins typing a tag which is automatically associated with the selected items without further user action. Tagging suggestions can also be supplied based on a user'"'"'s selection, be dynamically supplied based on a user'"'"'s input action, and/or be formulated automatically based on user data and/or tags and the like associated with selections by an external source. Machine learning can also be utilized to facilitate in tag determination. This increases the value of the tagged items by providing greater item access flexibility and allowing multiple associations (or tags) with each item.

Claims

1. A method for applying tags to files of a file system, the method comprising:

operating at least one programmed processor to carry out a series of acts, the series of acts being identified by executable instructions with which the at least one programmed processor is programmed, the series of acts comprising;

first detecting, while information regarding one or more files is displayed in a computing interface, a user selection of at least one particular file of the one or more files;

second detecting, following the first detecting of the user selection and while the information regarding the one or more files is displayed in the computing interface, a computing interface input of one or more characters from the user, each of the one or more characters in the computing interface input corresponding to successive characters of a desired tag to be applied to the at least one particular file; and

in response to the first detecting and the second detecting following the first detecting, automatically entering a tagging mode of the computing interface without further user interaction, other than the user selection of the at least one particular file and the computing interface input of the one or more characters, displaying an indication that tagging is active, upon entering the tagging mode, and utilizing the computing interface input to generate a tag to be applied to the at least one particular file, the generated tag being one of a plurality of different tags to be applied to the at least one particular file via the tagging mode, all of the plurality of different tags having coexisting associations, as coexistent tags, with the at least one particular file, and determining at least one suggested tag based at least in part on the input from the user, the at least one suggested tag including at least some of the input; and

displaying in the window the at least one suggested tag to be applied to the at least one particular file.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the series of acts further comprises:

utilizing the computing interface input to generate the tag by displaying at least one suggested tag in the computing interface;

in response to a second computing interface input from the user selecting a particular tag of the at least one suggested tag displayed in the computing interface, storing the particular tag in association with the at least one particular file.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the series of acts further comprises:

determining the at least one suggested tag based at least in part on the computing interface input from the user.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the at least one suggested tag comprises determining the at least one suggested tag based at least in part on one or more of:

a first tag previously applied to one of the at least one particular file,

a second tag previously applied to another file that is determined to be similar to the at least one particular file based on a comparison of file types,

a recently-applied tag, or

a commonly-applied tag.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the at least one suggested tag comprises querying an external data source of tags.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein querying the external data source of tags comprises transmitting to the external data source information about the at least one particular file.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein querying the external data source of tags comprises transmitting to the external data source information about the user.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein transmitting to the external data source information about the user comprises transmitting information regarding one or more of:

preferences of the user,

a profession of the user,

a current project on which the user is working, or

a current activity in which the user is engaging.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first detecting of the user selection of the at least one particular file while the information regarding the one or more files is displayed in the computing interface comprises first detecting the user selection while metadata regarding files that are stored in a folder of a file system is displayed in the computing interface.

10. A method comprising:

displaying information regarding one or more files of a file system in a window of a graphical user interface;

first detecting, while the information regarding the one or more files is displayed in the window, a user selection of at least one particular file of the one or more files;

second detecting, following the first detecting of the user selection and while the information regarding the one or more files is displayed in the window, an input from the user of one or more characters, each of the one or more characters in the input from the user corresponding to successive characters of a desired tag to be applied to the at least one particular file;

in response to the first detecting of the selection of the at least one particular file and the second detecting of the input of the one or more characters, following the first detecting, automatically initiating a tagging mode of the graphical user interface without further user interaction, other than the user selection and the input of the one or more characters from the user, displaying an indication that tagging is active, upon initiating the tagging mode, the desired tag being one of a plurality of different tags to be applied to the at least one particular file via the tagging mode, all of the plurality of different tags having coexisting associations, as coexistent tags, with the at least one particular file, and determining at least one suggested tag based at least in part on the input from the user, the at least one suggested tag including at least some of the input; and

displaying in the window the at least one suggested tag to be applied to the at least one particular file.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the at least one suggested tag comprises determining the at least one suggested tag based at least in part on one or more of:

a first tag previously applied to one of the at least one particular file,

a second tag previously applied to another file that is determined to be similar to the at least one particular file based on a comparison of file types,

a recently-applied tag, or

a commonly-applied tag.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

generating an automatic tag based at least in part on an analysis of content of one of the at least one particular file;

storing the automatic tag in association with the one of the at least one particular file; and

displaying the automatic tag to the user in a different manner from at least one explicit tag applied to the one of the at least one particular file by the user.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein displaying the automatic tag to the user in the different manner comprises:

displaying to the user each tag associated with the one of the at least one particular file and, for the each tag, an indication of an associated confidence level of the user with regard to the each tag based on the displaying in the different manner, wherein the automatic tag has a lower confidence value than the at least one explicit tag.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

monitoring user interaction with the automatic tag; and

learning, based at least in part on the user interaction, information about user preferences regarding the tags of the file system; and

generating at least one additional tag based at least in part on the learned information about user preferences regarding the tags of the file system.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the at least one suggested tag comprises determining a first suggested tag that includes all of the one or more characters of the input from the user.

16. An apparatus configured to apply tags to files of a file system, the apparatus comprising:

a user interface to display information to a user regarding files of the file system and tags able to be applied to the files and to receive information from the user indicating a selection of at least one file, input regarding desired tags, and a selection of tags; and

at least one processor programmed to;

first detect, while information regarding one or more files is displayed in a window of the user interface, a selection of at least one particular file of the one or more files;

second detect, following the first detection of the selection of the at least one particular file and while the information regarding the one or more files is displayed in the window, input from the user of one or more characters included in a tag that the user desires to apply to the at least one particular file; and

in response to the first detection of the selection of the at least one particular file and the second detection of the input of the one or more characters from the user, automatically initiate a tagging mode of the user interface without further user interaction, other than the selection of the at least one particular file and the input of the one or more characters from the user, displaying an indication that tagging is active, upon initiating the tagging mode, the desired tag being one of a plurality of different tags to be applied to the at least one particular file via the tagging mode, all of the plurality of different tags having coexisting associations, as coexistent tags, with the at least one particular file, determining at least one suggested tag based at least in part on the input from the user, the at least one suggested tag including at least some of the input, and display in the window the at least one suggested tag to be applied to the at least one particular file.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to:

determine the at least one suggested tag based at least in part on the input from the user.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to determine the at least one suggested tag at least by determining the at least one suggested tag based at least in part on one or more of:

a first tag previously applied to one of the at least one particular file,

a second tag previously applied to another file that is determined to be similar to the at least one particular file based on a comparison of file types,

a recently-applied tag, or

a commonly-applied tag.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to determine the at least one suggested tag at least by querying an external data source of tags.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to query the external data source of tags at least by transmitting to the external data source information regarding one or more of:

preferences of the user,

a profession of the user,

a current project on which the user is working, or

a current activity in which the user is engaging.